Odense International School logo
HHS Logo

School Policies

Here you will find important school policies. If you have any questions, please send an email to the OIS office.

Attendance

Student attendance is taken very seriously in Denmark, and OIS has an obligation to report absences of more than 15% per quarter (7.5 missed days out of 50 possible school days per quarter) to the Danish authorities.

To prevent such action, OIS begins a conversation with parents when students reach 10% (5 missed days) of the total 15% absences in a quarter. Persistent truancy will prompt OIS staff to begin to work with parents to find a solution to improve attendance.

If the child has a doctor’s note, has had surgery, or experiences another chronic situation, OIS has discretion to interpret how much of an educational loss the absence accounts for.

Illness, holidays, appointments—every time your child is not in school, it is a missed day and is counted as an absence.

Families may only ask for one week (5 school days) off per semester. We have two semesters at OIS—August–December and January–June. Each semester consists of two quarters. These absences should be organised with the class teacher.

Please note that we cannot offer TEAMS lessons or specially-prepared educational packages for travelers. Our teachers’ focus is on the children who are at school with us.

Please support your child with good school routines. This includes enough time in the morning to ensure he/she arrives at school on time, attends school regularly, and has a routine to get homework done and respect deadlines. Gratefully, the vast majority of our students have or are developing good routines and work habits.

Zero Tolerance for Bullying

Inclusion and diversity are at the forefront of our goals at OIS, and kindness is our mantra. A nurturing environment where children can be comfortable among their peers is vital to their growth. Naturally, bullying is not allowed, is taken very seriously, and is actively monitored by staff.

Prevention is key. Teaching tolerance and that everyone has something to offer is vital to preventing alienation. Teachers are trained to recognise the early signs in students either participating in bullying or being bullied themselves. This allows us to remedy situations that do not yet look like classic bullying but could result in it. Students and staff participate in Pink Shirt Day, which is a day of solidarity against bullying, by sporting their favourite pink piece of clothing.

As a school in Denmark, OIS has a lawful responsibility to intervene at the earliest possible time. Staff reacts quickly by creating an action plan—an assessment of the current situation and its causes, a roadmap of actions and expectations to resolve the issue and follow up plans to aid in future prevention.

Withdrawal

Please notify the OIS admissions team and the head of school, Johanne, of plans for withdrawal at least three months before your exit.

Families must pay school fees for three months after notice for withdrawal is officially given. If you time this with the last three months of your child's schooling at OIS, then there are no fees additional to these three months of tuition. If you notify us two months before your exit, you will still be billed for the third month. The fee-free month of July does not count toward one of these three months.

Therefore, the last date to notify of withdrawal to avoid school fees for the upcoming school year is 31 March.

After you have notified the OIS admissions team of your plans for withdrawal, you will receive a Notice of Withdrawal form on OpenApply. This formalises the withdrawal and begins the three-month withdrawal period. Withdrawal is not official until this form is completed. This form must be completed by both parents.

If you are seeking guidance regarding transferring into the Danish school system, our office is happy to advise.